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Lawmakers To Hear From Public On Democrats' Pension Plan

Oregon legislative committees will hear from the public Wednesday about a Democratic proposal to trim pension benefits for retired public employees.

The plan has angered public-employee unions, whose leaders say it would violate a contractual agreement between the state and its workers. Other critics say the Democratic plan wouldn’t do enough to reduce the rising cost of pensions for government workers.

Democrats want to cut annual cost-of-living increases, leaning hardest on workers with larger retirement checks. Retirees earning less than $20,000 a year would continue getting a 2 percent inflation increase each year, but the amount would be reduced on a graduated scale at higher income levels.